Telebass Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 First off, looking at the Squier specs for this shows that the proof reader for their web site has no clue about the product - it's a mix of specs from this model and the Dirnt sig, which is now transferred to Squier production. [url="http://squierguitars.com/products/view_specs.php?full_partno=0326902500&name=Vintage+Modified+Precision+Bass%26reg%3B+TB"]Link to spec sheet[/url] I'll start with the [b]neck[/b]. It's a thoroughly modern C shape, and is one piece (fretted maple neck). Those who recoil from the original Telecaster Bass' C width will be pleased to note that the nut width is 1.6" / 40.5mm, slightly less than a standard B width. The nut itself is a cheap-looking plastic affair which appears to have had the slots melted into it with a set of hot heavy-gauge strings! However, it does the job. The finish is a very smooth and thin satin, and is very comfortable and fast under the hand. The truss rod is adjusted at the nut end; this is no Vintage RI after all. No bullet, and no 3-bolt tilt. 9/10 [b]Body[/b]: Basswood, with ash veneers top and back. Many comments on how good it looks, and I agree. The veneers (on mine, at least) appear to be pretty well bookmatched. The body is the same as the Dirnt in that it's a sharp-edged slab, but has a forearm contour. Either way doesn't really worry me personally, as my main squeeze is the '51RI, but it might be a selling point for some. 8/10 [b]Hardware[/b]: Much as you'd expect from a Squier. As I'm intending to use this quite a lot, most of it will be upgraded at some point. The bridge is a (to me) rather poor copy of the original two-saddler. It has large brass saddles, considerably beefier all round than the original steels. As they are also longer, there's no room for a bit of sideways movement to help with intonation tweaks. Otherwise, it's a solid job. Tuners are functional. String tree is horrid! I've changed the entirely OK strap buttons for Schaller straplocks already. 4/10 [b]Electronics[/b]: The pickup looks to be a fairly accurate repro of the original Telebass humbucker. The polepiece heads seem to me to be different, but I've never seen an original in the flesh, so I can't be sure. It sounds pretty good to me, and I can dial in enough twang on my amp to keep it from being unrelenting mud. It can certainly do mud if you want it to, however! One thing I noticed - the position of this pickup is on a nodal point, the same distance from the bridge as the fifth fret is from the nut. This makes tuning with harmonics when plugged in a little difficult, as the note is faint. Unplugged, of course, it's fine. Controls are cheap far eastern, and feel stiff and stodgy. They're loosening up a bit, but at the first sign of problems, I'll rewire the bass with CTS pots and decent wire. The jack is a generic football-plate edge mount, probably easier to mess with than the standard Telecaster-type cup. 7/10 [b]In use[/b]: Nothing you wouldn't expect, given the inspiration. Weight, about 8.6lbs, quite nice. I like it! 8/10, and will get better! Now, here's some pics. Front Back Headstock Rear of headstock Bridge Pickup Further to this, I've played the bass through some different amps/combos. The results were illuminating. My Markbass, I can get anything I want. A Trace Elliot 715 combo, the same, with a little less treble available due to the 15" driver, but still fine. A Marshall VBA400 head through a 1x15" Hartke Transporter cab yielded unrelenting mud. The VBA is Marshall's take on a classic AVT, with more ooomph. So, depending on what gear you've got, it may well live up to the original's rep for mud, but with something more modern, it can certainly be made to be more versatile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodl2005 Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Gee that looks like a lovely bass... I don't think ANY of the VINTAGE modifies series-except the orig ones- Jaco, white P, natural 70's Jazz, - have hit AUS. yet, but I was interested in the orig. mod vintage White P bass anyway- but yrs looks GREAT! Congrats & THANX for the review! Anything new to report since this review? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freuds_Cat Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Xlnt review Telebass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BargyBass Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Cheers for that.. Interesting looking bass that might be worth a try-out sometime.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 good review! same kinda changes I am going to make on mine! prefer the pup on the squier to the pup on the 51 RI, that was the main reason I parted with my 51 RI - found the pup to be very thin and not versatile enough for me! but still an exceptional bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 Ah well, there we differ - I find the '51RI to be the equal of any P-bass I've ever had! But each to his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toasted Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 That's a great looking bass and a nice review. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99ster Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 (edited) Yes - a great review... I've got an original early 70's one & it is awesome - such a huge FAT BASS sound... But these Squires look great - & how can you possibly go wrong for a couple of hundred squid? Especially as the original ones are starting to fetch 10 times that.... Well done Fender! Edited September 17, 2007 by 99ster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punksoul257 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 i want one, is there a badass bridge that accepts through body strings?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hit&Run Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 [quote name='punksoul257' post='63384' date='Sep 20 2007, 11:21 PM']i want one, is there a badass bridge that accepts through body strings??[/quote] Yes, the badass 3 bridge accepts through-body or top-loading. I've got one on my TB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryPotter Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Tried one of these in sh!te control the other week, I thought teh neck was fantastic, never actually realised it was closer to jazzer dimensions than I realised, which kind of explains why I liked it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Great review and pix. And the bass looks cool too - although with one pickup so close to the neck, it makes me shudder to think of the warm rounded sound this might make. Goes against my 'spiky' and 'growly' Stingray religion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.sibs Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 really thinking about getting one of these and i had a bit of a play today, but i like to get my thumb sunk in, is there a tasteful way to get a thumbrest, or maybe upgrade to a back pickup ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hit&Run Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 [quote name='mr.sibs' post='97289' date='Dec 1 2007, 05:16 PM']really thinking about getting one of these and i had a bit of a play today, but i like to get my thumb sunk in, is there a tasteful way to get a thumbrest, or maybe upgrade to a back pickup ???[/quote] I've been toying with the idea of putting a normal p-bass pickup in it's usual spot on my TB, it would give more sound options [b]and[/b] give me somewhere to anchor my thumb. Or I can leave it as my "plectrum only" bass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I played one of these today - WOW ! Such a thumpy tone and a great feel, added to GAS list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Found this thread so no need to create a new one for my review:- I had a gig last night so decided to take along the Squier for its first gig. I know that these things can be very powerful so I set it up prior to going and dropped the pickup all the way down so that it was flush with the body. When I got it plugged in I only really had to increase the top end and reduce the lower frequencies a bit to get a really good sound. I was expecting indistinct mud but was very surprised at the clarity Iwas able to get. For anyone who doesn't know, I play through a Shuttle 6.0 and Schroeder 1212L. The best way to describe the sound would be deep, rich and overdriven to the point just before distortion kicks in. Could be something to do with me having the preamp valve set to clip on my Shuttle but a very nice sound none the less. I was expecting the Schroeder to begin farting with this bass but it didn't even seem to be working that hard to produce sound. I found the sound to be very even over the whole fretboard and was overall very impressed. The bass is very light - probably a lot to do with having a basswood body with ash front and back. The maple neck looks good and not cheap like some lower end maple necks look. Its actually quite surprising to find a maple fretboard on a relatively inexpensive bass such as this. Other touches like the string through body bridge and my personal favourite headstock shape make this a very appealing bass for those who want something a bit different to the usual P & J clones. After about a dozen songs, I decided to plug the gold one in and that was that really. I don't know what it is but the gold bass is my sound and I haven't been able to find anything better than it. I'm not saying that the Squier is a bad bass - far from it, the Squier feels really good to play and feels about half the weight of the Warmoth. The parts on the Squier are gong to be cheaper than what I have on the gold bass but they still feel solid enough to take everything in their stride. If i didn't have the gold bass, I'd probably be keeping this as my main bass but I love the gold bass for so many reasons which means that the Squier is surplus to requirments and will be for sale shortly I also agree with Telebass that the single coil P basses have such a fantastic sound. I've had 2 '51 reissues - 2 tone sunburst and mustard yellow, another Warmoth '57 spec single coil bass, an original 1973 Telecaster bass and my current gold '54 one and personally nothing can touch the gold one in terms of playability, comfort and range of sounds available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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